| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from On the Duty of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau: governed by policy and expediency. Webster never goes behind
government, and so cannot speak with authority about it.
His words are wisdom to those legislators who contemplate no
essential reform in the existing government; but for thinkers,
and those who legislate for all tim, he never once glances
at the subject. I know of those whose serene and wise
speculations on this theme would soon reveal the limits
of his mind's range and hospitality. Yet, compared with
the cheap professions of most reformers, and the still
cheaper wisdom an eloquence of politicians in general,
his are almost the only sensible and valuable words,
On the Duty of Civil Disobedience |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Letters from England by Elizabeth Davis Bancroft: the other, and Miss Murray just behind me. She insisted on
introducing to me all her noble relatives. Her cousin, the young
Duke of Athol; the Duke of Buccleuch; her nephew the Marquis of
Camden; her brother the Bishop of Rochester. There were many whom I
had seen before, so that the hour passed very agreeably. Very soon
came in the Duke of Cambridge, at which everybody rose, he being a
royal duke. He was dressed in the scarlet kingly robe, trimmed with
ermine, and with his white hair and whiskers (he is an old man) was
most picturesque and scenic, reminding me of King Lear and other
stage kings. He requested to be introduced to me, upon which I
rose, of course. He soon said, "Be seated," and we went on with the
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Brother of Daphne by Dornford Yates: "Never seen them before in my life. Order the car, man; order
the car. I want to take them back to the station and find out
what's become of our own."
The footman fled. When the housekeeper appeared, breathless, I
was sitting on a table, swinging the parasol and smoking angrily.
"Is the car coming?" I demanded.
"Yes, indeed, sir. It'll be round in a moment. What a dreadful
thing to have happened, sir. I can't understand- "
"Neither can I, except that they're both something like our
things. But look at that label. This isn't Whinnerley Hall, is
it?"
The Brother of Daphne |
